Fundraising is an important part of our company ethos here at Easy2name. We are well aware that all schools and nurseries are always trying to raise money for various projects and we also know that school children have a habit of mislaying items of clothing, books and personal belongings. It was these two things combined that led us to start our fundraising scheme 13 years ago.

The scheme is simple, parents buy our products and we give the school 20% cashback on the orders.

We are very proud of the strong relationship we have with over 4000 schools and nursery groups in the UK. Our most successful schools raise over £1900 with our scheme every single year. By offering 20% cashback on all orders placed, even smaller groups can reap a substantial amount of funds from doing really very little. And we continue to see this as a win-win situation, our groups are very happy to be raising money and we continue to welcome new groups and schools every week.

Of course it is not only schools and nurseries that can benefit, we have numerous Scout & Brownie groups raising funds with us as well as care homes and smaller charitable projects.

St John’s School in Wiltshire came up with a great way of keeping their uniform looking smart by stipulating that all parents buy specific labels from us (see image below) The gold on navy ID tags really stand out, and are used on the outside of PE kit. What a great way to raise even more funds for the school and avoid any lost property. If you are a large school you may want to consider designing your own labels with us?

We recently bought a pizza oven for the garden and what a hit it has been, I would highly recommend them. It has been a talking point, feature of the garden and we’ve had great pizza parties with very yummy results!

Originally we were just looking for a chiminea, but this has the additional top to cook us dinner too!

We use an easy Jamie Oliver pizza dough recipe - it really is very simple and quick. Then add any toppings we wish, I think we’ve tried most variations now although we’re always open to ideas! A top tip I would suggest would be to add another handful of grated cheese on top of the toppings, to make the whole thing taste even yummier!

Now, I have several jars of flour and sugar I’ve labelled them with Easy2name stickers so I don’t get in a muddle. The stickers are completely dishwasher safe and wonderfully colourful so really easy to identify. Get yours here

Like most parents I struggle a lot trying to get my toddler to eat. Some days she is fussy, others I wonder if her last teeth are coming through causing her pain, sometimes I wonder if she has filled up too much on snacks etc. It can become a battle but there are several tips I have found to try and help:

Eat with your toddler – you are their role model, if they see you doing something, they are likely to copy.

Make meal and snack times regular and don’t give snacks just before a meal.

Try to avoid giving meals when they are tired.

Stay positive – if you are, it is more likely to rub off on your little one.

Avoid distractions like the TV.

Offer finger foods; toddlers like to do things for themselves and it encourages them to be independent.

Let them help in simple food preparation or laying the table, this will involve and interest them without putting pressure on them.

Keep trying, just because they refused something once, doesn’t mean they will next time.

Children won’t starve themselves, if they don’t eat what you have given them, don’t go and cook a whole new meal or give a sweet treat, just offer fruit.

Try and make food attractive – arrange in the shape of an animal, a face etc. Toddlers enjoy colourful fun food.

Girlguiding is as popular today as it ever has been. Supported by 100,000 volunteers, the charity gives girls and young women “space to be themselves, have fun, build friendships, gain life skills and make a positive difference to themselves and their communities”. I personally started as a brownie in the ‘pixie’ section. I loved it and carried on to become a guide and gain by B-P (Baden Powell) award.

Guiding was started by Robert Baden-Powell in 1907 when he set up a camp for boys at Brownsea Island, Dorset to trial his scouting ideas. Scouting grew and grew; next girls wanted the opportunity to participate. In 1910 The Girl Guides Association was formed by Robert Baden-Powell’s sister Agnes. The clothes have always been blue in colour. Although in the very early days girls based their attire on the boy’s, dyeing their brothers’ old cricket shirts and sewing other bits of fabrics together to create their own uniform, until guidelines were set out in 1907.

In 1914 a junior section was created for girls under 11 called ‘Rosebuds’. It was soon renamed though to ‘Brownies’ in 1915 as the Rosebuds disliked their original name. Agnes Baden-Powell suggested the name ‘Brownies’, as they were helpful little creatures in a fairy story she treasured. With the name Brownies, brown was the obvious choice of colour for the uniform. Yellow was bought in as an accent colour for ties in the 1950’s.

The Rainbow section wasn’t officially introduced across the UK until 1987. There were groups in Northern Ireland that started up before this (around the 1970’s) called Bunnies, a programme was established, they had a ‘bunny badge’ and worked towards ‘Bunny Bobs’; different coloured badges with grey dots representing a variety of topics. Across the rest of the UK it was thought insurance would be too high and that younger girls wouldn’t understand the meaning behind the promise. A trial was set up though and proved so popular the scheme was rolled out. Each group had made its own decisions over uniform so to combine all the colours together they were now called rainbows.

The trefoil is the united symbol of the world association of Girl Guides, on the blue background it symbolises the sun shining over the children of the world. Easy2name provide Scout and Brownie Labels, which you can view here.

One of the most exciting moments in pregnancy is decorating the nursery. Putting all those ideas into action, designing the space for your little one is very pleasing. Not only do you want something that visually looks beautiful but it needs to be practical and to most, reasonably priced as well.

Start with listing items you need, then you can add in wishful products later on, otherwise you can waste money on things you will never use. Of course we all want the best for our children but don’t get taken in by adverts making out their products are necessities, ask other mums for advice or check out parenting websites online. Also make a plan of the room and measure everything, the last thing you want to do is buy furniture and it doesn’t fit.

Friends and family may want to pass on items to you (like a Moses basket or quilt) which is lovely and can add a lot of character and sentiment to a room. This will furthermore save you some money and it is great to re-use old items. It could provide you with a starting subject to base the rest of the room on, we chose the nursery theme for our newest addition based on a blanket made by her great grandmother.

Choosing your theme. Ideally it is advised to go for something classic and simple, that you can adapt over time easily. A popular option is to choose something that will stimulate the baby as they grow, selecting bright primary colours, geometric shapes and patterns. Others pick softer colours that will help babies sleep without distraction. The other consideration is whether or not to go for something gender neutral, will you want more children? It may be worth not doing everything in pink or blue if you want to reuse it all.

Wall stickers are perfect for decorating a nursery, if you only need something for the moment or longer lasting. You just peel them off when you change your mind or move house. Easy2name have a selection of personalised options including height charts to measure your little one as they grow. View our Room Easy’s here and Growth Charts here.

Interior design catalogues can provide a lot of inspiration, cut out bits you like and make a mood board collage, take it with you when out shopping for guidance. They can also offer alternative practical ideas to help with space saving and organisation.

As a mother the top products I would recommend for a nursery are:

Blackout blinds/curtains

A Cot bed that you can take the sides off

Multiple change mats (for upstairs and down)

Several storage boxes for old clothes and endless toys

And if money allows a video baby monitor (I spent ages just watching her sleeping in her cot!).

Safety is obviously a very important aspect. Click here to check out this helpful list of do’s and don’t’s.

Valentine’s Day has become not only a popular day for engagements, but for weddings too! Having just started to organise a wedding myself I thought it would be fun to create some Valentine’s Day themed wedding ideas. Even if you are not getting married on Valentine’s Day, consider incorporating some of these touches into your big day.

Find a venue that will allow you to light lots of candles so you can really set the mood for a late evening ceremony.

Your wedding invitations should establish the theme initially for your big day. There are so many heart inspired invitations available, or make it even more personal and create your own.

A string quartet at the church would make it feel so romantic. If you have a DJ, create a list full of love songs.

Roses are the classic, however if you are getting married in February they are likely to be expensive. Look for other flowers such as tulips, dahlias and burgundy calla lilies.

Create heart inspired favours, such as heart shaped boxes full of sweets or soap in the shape of hearts.

Red petals scattered on tables and down the aisle will really finish off any Valentine’s themed day.

A tiered wedding cake in the shape of a heart looks amazing; decorate with real roses in red, white or a pale pink.

Heart-shaped balloons could look fabulous tied to the back of chairs at the reception. If you have invited children they would love to take one home at the end of the evening.

What’s more romantic than candles? Tea-lights in jars with red petals scattered around are a great finishing touch.

If you really want to complete the theme you can even make sure the food you lay out fits the theme. Red foods such as strawberries and cherries placed in a little basket could look fab.

A final touch that I will be adding to my wedding will be our Personalised Ribbon. This comes in a huge range of colours including red as well as pretty wedding motifs including a heart, horse shoe and bells. You can take a look at them here on our website.